20 Books That Feel Like Sacred Texts
300 fans at a live show for Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Image via Religious News Service
Any book can be a sacred text.
Like many people, traditional religious scriptures aren’t my jam. For example, the Bible feels too intimately wound up with a history of oppression and hate. While I think Jesus would be pissed at this behavior— like the spurning of the LGBTQIA community— it’s a part of the church nonetheless. That makes it difficult for me to feel connected to its books.
Yet even though I don’t have a Bible with my name on it, I still look for resources to guide me in my life. As a result, I find my wisdom in books, albeit ones you might not expect. These tombs of wisdom— from The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk to Anam Cara by John O’Donohue— are my personal sacred texts. I turn to them when I feel overwhelmed, unsure, and out of my element.
Of course, I’m far from the first person to use a non-religious book as a spiritual resource. In fact, there’s a wildly popular podcast based on that exact idea— Harry Potter And The Sacred Text. In it, theologians Casper Ter Kuille and Vanessa Zoltan read every chapter of all seven Harry Potter books using a method called Lectio Divina. You can hear them discuss their methodology in the first podcast episode.
How To Read A Text As Sacred
You can do a sacred reading of anything, as long as you bring your attention and desire for meaning. First, choose a passage from your book of choice. Next, pick a theme to look at it through. This could range from integrity to friendship to loneliness. Finally, interpret your passage from four different angles:
1) Narrative: Look at the quote in a literal way
2) Allegory: What are the metaphors and symbols? (For example, the name ‘Voldemort’ loosely translates in French to ‘running away from death.’ Mind blown!)
3) Personal: How do these themes and lessons apply to your own life?
4) Invitation: In what ways will you integrate these learnings? What action are you going to take moving forward?
Casper and Vanessa interpreting Harry Potter as sacred has clearly tapped into a desire that many share for more meaning in their life. According to Wikipedia, their show has over 100,000 listeners per week. Per week!
Learning about this podcast’s popularity made me curious— what other books do people hold as sacred? I reached out to my audience on Instagram and Twitter to find out. Their answers ranged from books by spiritual leaders to children’s novels to guides on fishing. I’ve compiled a selection of them below, as well as one of my personal favorites.
If you want to bring a stronger sense of the sacred to your own life, consider signing up for my new course, Everyday Spirituality. We start on December 22, and the early bird rate of $100 ends on Friday, December 11!
Now, onto the books.
The Sacred Texts
1) Anam Cara by John O’Donhue
John O'Donohue, poet, philosopher, and scholar, guides you through the spiritual landscape of the Irish imagination. In Anam Cara, Gaelic for soul friend, the ancient teachings, stories, and blessings of Celtic wisdom provide such profound insights on the universal themes of friendship, solitude, love, and death.
Check out the book here. Recommendation from me!
2) The Golden Sequence by Jonni Pollard
If you feel dissatisfied with your life and helpless to make a change, you are not alone. Many people struggle to make sense of the world and find true purpose. Two decades ago, these same feelings drove Jonni Pollard to seek out a better way of being in the world. A master teacher in India introduced him to ancient Vedic practices that changed Jonni's life forever; the anxiety that had tormented him for so many years was finally replaced by a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment. Now an expert meditation teacher, Jonni's mission is to share the knowledge and techniques he has learned to help anyone reclaim their power to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. The most foundational of these lessons is what Jonni calls "the Golden Sequence."
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Jesse Israel, founder of The Big Quiet, for the recommendation!
3) I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope And Joy by Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky
To Persians, the poems of Hafiz are not "classical literature" from a remote past but cherished wisdom from a dear and intimate friend that continues to be quoted in daily life. With uncanny insight, Hafiz captures the many forms and stages of love. His poetry outlines the stages of the mystic's "path of love"--a journey in which love dissolves personal boundaries and limitations to join larger processes of growth and transformation.
With this stunning collection, Ladinsky has succeeded brilliantly in capturing the essence of one of Islam's greatest poetic and spiritual voices.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Agapi Stassinopoulos for the recommendation! (And shoutout to her wonderful book, Wake Up To The Joy Of You.)
4) The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. Richard Howard's translation of the beloved classic beautifully reflects Saint-Exupéry's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Alex Witowski and NebFabulous for the recommendation!
5) The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Ronni Marker for the recommendation!
6) The Girls’ Guide To Hunting And Fishing by Melissa Banks
Generous-hearted and wickedly insightful, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing maps the progress of Jane Rosenal as she sets out on a personal and spirited expedition through the perilous terrain of sex, love, relationships, and the treacherous waters of the workplace. Soon Jane is swept off her feet by an older man and into a Fitzgeraldesque whirl of cocktail parties, country houses, and rules that were made to be broken, but comes to realize that it's a world where the stakes are much too high for comfort.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Britanny Tempe for the recommendation!
7) The Religion of Tomorrow by Ken Wilber
A single purpose lies at the heart of all the great religious traditions: awakening to the astonishing reality of the true nature of ourselves and the universe. At the same time, through centuries of cultural accretion and focus on myth and ritual as ends in themselves, this core insight has become obscured. Here Ken Wilber provides a path for reenvisioning a religion of the future that acknowledges the evolution of humanity in every realm while remaining faithful to that original spiritual vision.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Adam M. Goyer for the recommendation!
8) A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
With his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived "in the now." In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Dale Wilkinson and Chad Arroyo for the recommendation!
9) Secrets Of Divine Love by A. Helwa
Are you longing to experience a more intimate and loving relationship with the Divine?
Secrets of Divine Love draws upon spiritual secrets of the Qur'an, ancient mystical poetry, and stories from the world's greatest prophets and spiritual masters to help you reignite your faith, overcome your doubts, and deepen your connection with God.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Mahmoud Khedr for the recommendation!
10) Parable Of The Sower by Octovia E. Butler
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Vicki V Crosson for the recommendation!
11) Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom had a second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class" lessons in how to live. Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Catherine Lindsay for the recommendation!
12) Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Here he examines its ultimate limitations and failures--in his own practices as well as others'--as life draws to a close. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life--all the way to the very end.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Teresa Basich for the recommendation!
13) Franny And Zooey by JD Salinger
A novel in two halves, Franny and Zooey brilliantly captures the emotional strains and traumas of entering adulthood. It is a gleaming example of the wit, precision, and poignancy that have made J. D. Salinger one of America's most beloved writers.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to @thebirdiehansen for the recommendation!
14) Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
Anne Michaels's fiercely beautiful debut novel tells the interlocking stories of three men of different generations whose lives are transformed by the events and shifting effects of the same war.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Maria Christodoulou and Revel And Awe for the recommendation!
15) Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup
Ten years ago, Kate Braestrup and her husband Drew were enjoying the life they shared together. They had four young children, and Drew, a Maine state trooper, would soon begin training to become a minister as well. Then early one morning Drew left for work and everything changed. On the very roads that he protected every day, an oncoming driver lost control, and Kate lost her husband. Stunned and grieving, Kate decided to continue her husband's dream and became a minister herself.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to @agnesonthemove for the recommendation!
16) Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
Nonviolent Communication is the integration of four things: Consciousness, Language, communication, and means of influence. Nonviolent Communication serves our desire to do three things: Increase our ability to live with choice, meaning, and connection, Connect empathically with self and others to have more satisfying relationships, and Sharing of resources so everyone is able to benefit.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Medis for the recommendation!
17) These Things Are Ours by Gwen Frostic
These Things Are Ours Hardcover – 1960 by Gwen Frostic. This book is imbibed with Frostic’s belief that all of Creation is connected and belongs to all of us. Her color palette for this book was mostly greens and blues, recalling Heaven and Earth
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Annie Melden for the recommendation!
18) The Book by Alan Watts
At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the "outside" world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human--and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Ruben Alexander for the recommendation!
19) A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson
Williamson reveals how we each can become a miracle worker by accepting God and by the expression of love in our daily lives. Whether psychic pain is in the area of relationships, career, or health, she shows us how love is a potent force, the key to inner peace, and how by practicing love we can make our own lives more fulfilling while creating a more peaceful and loving world for our children.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Shaun Galanos of The Love Drive for the recommendation!
20) The Humans by Matt Haig
When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned him and hurry home to his own utopian planet, where everyone is omniscient and immortal.
Check out the book here. Shoutout to Anthony Garcia for the recommendation!
If you want a stronger sense of the sacred in your life, sign up for Everyday Spirituality. We start on December 22!